


dance to this beat and hold a lover close

by differentsnowflake



Series: lying is the most fun [2]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Protectiveness, Rated T because I let them swear, SO MUCH FLUFF, The Author Regrets Nothing, gays being gay, this is disgustingly fluffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-15 00:55:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28804653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/differentsnowflake/pseuds/differentsnowflake
Summary: Alex's never had a boyfriend before, and he's realizing that relationships are complicated. There're kisses and dates and the fact that he has no idea when to say those three words. But he's more than happy to figure it all out.Or, five times Willie is protective of Alex and the one time Alex is protective of Willie.
Relationships: Alex Mercer/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Julie Molina/Luke Patterson (Background)
Series: lying is the most fun [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2105841
Comments: 41
Kudos: 288





	dance to this beat and hold a lover close

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to post this a long time ago but then I realized I forgot everything that happened in the first part so I had to reread it all lol.  
> This is a sequel to 'lying is the most fun.' It can be read as a stand alone but it's highly recommendable that you read that one first.  
> The only warning is that this is disgustingly cheesy. And some brief mentions of blood, nothing serious though.

**one**

Alex's never had a boyfriend before.

It's great, yeah, even if they started dating and haven't seen each other in a week because of Christmas break. They talk every day on the phone, though, and maybe he's being a little _obsessive,_ as his brother says, but whatever.

He has a boyfriend and he's excited. He likes saying it.

Boyfriend, boyfriend, boyfriend.

The thing is, he's not sure of how relationships _work._

He's always been busy thinking about other things, and none of his friends have had a partner either. (Reggie had a boyfriend for like three weeks, but they've all come to the conclusion that he doesn't count.)

He may be overthinking everything a little, as he always does, but he can't help it. Is it different now? Is he supposed to act different? Is he supposed to say stuff he didn't say before? What about saying I love you? How the hell is he supposed to know when is the right time? There's just- so _many_ questions.

He's talked about it with Julie, Reggie and Luke, and they all have told him to 'just be himself' and to 'stop overthinking everything', which is great advice Alex doesn't know how to follow.

Willie spends all his time sending him random pictures of whatever he's doing, and then he calls him and they talk for hours, and it's great. He always asks how he's managing everything at home, and Alex has been lying and telling him that everything's fine.

But it isn't, because something's happened between his parents and Alex can tell it's his fault. His dad has been cool, all smiles and gentle talks and hugs he wasn't used to getting. Just after getting home, his siblings asked him about Willie and Alex started talking and talking and talking, because he's found out he _loves_ talking about Willie, and then his mom suddenly stood up, mad. She told him she didn't want to hear about _that_ , and it hurt. A lot.

But Alex kept taking, and now, when he still has a week left of break, she still refuses to talk to him, and it's pretty obvious his parents fought and his house is a mess of hushed arguing and a heavy, sad ambiance that shouldn't be there, so he spends most of the break at Luke's or at Julie's, eating Tía Victoria's food or Emily's cookies.

It's fun until one day his mom goes to his room and says she wants to talk to him and starts talking and by the time she's finished Alex is crying really bad because she's his _mom_ , and she's supposed to love him no matter what but she seems to have forgotten that.

He ends up locking himself in the bathroom, trying to breathe, and he calls Willie.

He picks up in the third ring, his voice amused and excited. Alex hears him hushing someone.

"Hey, Alex," he says, and Alex can hear the smile in his voice.

"Hi," Alex mutters, and for once he doesn't care that it's pretty obvious that he's crying.

"Woah," there's shuffling in the other side. Alex can hear people talking but not loud enough for him to understand what they're saying. Then there's silence, and then Willie's voice. "What's wrong?"

"I just- my mom," he says, because he doesn't feel like repeating everything that she told him. Willie seems to understand, though.

"Where are you?"

"Um, you know- home. In the bathroom."

"Shit, Alex, you sound bad."

Alex shakes his head, not even caring that Willie can't see him. "I'm okay." That's true. He's sad, yeah, but it's not like he's about to have a panic attack or something. He just needs to talk to him.

"Do you need me to call someone?"

"No, no, I'm okay."

Willie sounds like he doesn't believe him. "You sure?"

"I'm fine, I promise," Alex stops a second to swallow down the tears a little. "It's just- I should be used to it, you know? But my dad and my siblings are all just- cool about it, and she's _not_. I don't get why."

"I'm so sorry that happened. I wish I could be there."

Alex hums a little. "I wish you could be here too."

"Is there something I can do?"

"Um," Alex sits on the bathroom floor, bringing his knees close to his chest. "Just tell me something."

"Alright, I can do that."

And then Willie starts talking, about so many things Alex can barely keep up with him, but it does help. A lot. He talks about the tricks he's learning and the long walks he's been taking because he wants to get better at drawing nature. He talks about a graffiti project he wants to work on and he talks about some of his friends’ stupid attempt of breaking into someone's pool, and by the time he doesn't know what else to talk about, Alex's not that sad anymore.

He realizes Willie's been talking for an hour, and that he's been sitting on the cold bathroom floor for an hour too, and his legs have gone numb, so he stands up and washes the tears away.

"Thanks," he says, taking a deep breath.

"Don't worry. Honestly, Alex, if she's making you feel like shit, there's no need to put up with her. You could just- I don't know. Leave."

Alex laughs a little. "And go where?"

"I could go pick you up."

Okay, that makes Alex want to cry a little. "We live two hours away."

"I bet I could get there on my skateboard."

"Please don't try."

Willie laughs. "Are you sure you're okay? I mean it, Alex, if you don't feel good at home-"

Alex shrugs, and then he remembers Willie can't see him. "It's fine. My dad is being awesome, and I missed my siblings. There's only one week left, and I've been living with her for twenty years. I can make it."

"If you're sure-"

"I am."

"Okay, babe. I have to go. We'll talk tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah. Of course."

They say goodbye, and then his little sister asks him if he wants to bake cookies with her. She doesn't know how to bake and he doesn't either but it sounds fun so he says yes.

Forty minutes later, as he puts the cookies in the oven, he realizes something.

"Did he just call me babe?" He asks himself, his heart stopping.

His sister looks at him. "What?"

"Oh, nothing. Nothing."

"You're so weird."

Alex rolls his eyes.

Babe. He likes the sound of that.

**two**

Alex never thought he'd say this, but he's more than ready to go back to college.

When Reggie shows up in his house to pick him up and drive back, Alex practically runs out of his house. Reggie laughs when he gets in the front seat beside him.

"You ready to leave?" He asks, raising an eyebrow. Alex snorts.

"More than ready. Drive me away, Reg."

Reggie rolls his eyes, but he starts the car. They go pick up Luke and then Julie and three hours later, they're back in the campus. They all go hang out at Luke and Reggie's dorm and end up singing karaoke and eating way-too-old frozen waffles.

The next day, Alex goes to pick Willie up at the bus station.

He sits in an old bench, counting the people who come and go as a way to calm himself down. He needs to see Willie. _Now_.

Fifteen minutes later, Willie gets out of the bus, and Alex hugs him because he can.

"Woah," Willie says, chuckling, when Alex hugs him with so much strength he has to step back a little to keep his balance. "Hi there," he hugs him back.

"I missed you," Alex admits, his chin resting against Willie's shoulder.

"I missed you too."

They go to Willie's apartment and Alex lays in Willie's bed as he unpacks his stuff. Then they end up making out, and _god_ Alex's been waiting for this a long time now. It's fun, and exciting but also calming and relaxed in a way Alex never thought making out could be.

That night, Willie attempts to cook pasta but he fails and they end up ordering Chinese food and falling asleep on his couch. It's the best day he's had in a long time.

One week later, he feels like he's _drowning_ in assignments and practice and classes, which is crazy because they literally just got back from a break. Alex has this new professor who's a little crazy and has him playing for hours, telling him it's important to build resistance or something like that. He teaches him some crazy drum beats and some technique he's never tried, and although Alex likes the lessons, he's also really scared of being _bad._

So he practices and he practices and he practices, a bottle of water by his side and his ear plugs in, working on his sound and his technique and everything the professor told him he needed to work on.

He has class with him on Mondays, and after grabbing lunch with Luke and Julie, he goes to a practice room ready to play for as long as he can. It's fun, and he loves seeing his new drumsticks starting to wear out. He plays until his body feels like it’s moving on his own, until his fingers and his legs have gone numb, until he feels like he can't hear himself, until Willie opens the door of the practice room with a smile.

Alex jumps a little when he sees him, and Willie laughs.

"Sorry I scared you," he says, walking towards him. Willie hugs him from behind, resting his chin against his shoulder, his hands around his neck. Alex leaves the drumsticks on top of the snare and covers Willie's hands with his, because it just- it feels natural. "Julie told me you'd be here," he continues, leaving a kiss in his temple.

"How did Julie know where I was?" He wonders. "I didn't even tell her."

Willie shrugs. "She knows you."

Alex lets go of Willie's hands to rotate his wrists a little, because his muscles are going stiff.

"How long have you been here?" Willie asks.

"Um- I don't know-" Alex checks his phone and _oh_. "Four hours I think."

Willie passes him the bottle of water. "That's a long time," he says as Alex drinks.

"I guess. This professor is like, crazy, but he's also really good and I think he doesn't hate the way I play, so-"

"So you can keep practicing tomorrow," Willie reasons with him, hugging him again. "After you come with me and have dinner, maybe?"

"You're asking me out?" Alex asks, letting himself relax in his seat, slumping against Willie.

"I'm telling you that my roommate cooked a ton of pancakes and we can go and eat them. Isn't that better than staying here and keep playing when you're clearly tired?"

Alex rolls his eyes. "I'm not tired," he lies. He's _really_ tired.

"Don't be stupid," Willie coaxes, pressing another kiss to his cheek. "Stop practicing. For me."

"For you? That's not very convincing."

Willie hits him in the shoulder playfully. Alex smiles.

"I mean it, Alex. I know you like practicing and stuff but taking breaks it's important, alright? Come with me and eat pancakes. Please," he ends, whining, and Alex has no other option than to say yes.

They eat pancakes and then Willie asks him if he can draw him.

Alex blinks.

"You want to draw me?"

"I mean, I've been drawing you for a while now, but I want to try something new. I've never liked doing realism but I've got this assignment and I need a model."

Alex raises one eyebrow. "You want me to be your model?"

Willie shrugs. "I asked someone prettier but he wasn't available."

Alex gasps. "You're mean."

Willie's too busy laughing. "I try."

The drawing is beautiful. Alex usually wouldn't be someone to call his face _beautiful_ , but there's something about the way Willie has drawn him that he doesn't know how to explain.

"You like it?" Willie asks when he's done. His fingers are covered in charcoal. "This is just a quick sketch, I need to fix it, but it's not that bad."

Alex kisses him. "It's great."

Willie smiles against his lips. "Thanks, babe."

**three**

Alex doesn't know if they're supposed to celebrate anniversaries. When are they important? Is a month important? He and Willie have never discussed that, and Alex is going a little crazy.

He's sitting in the couch of a practice room, beside Luke. Reggie is playing with his bass in front of them and Julie is writing something down in her lyrics book, behind her keyboard.

"Is a one-month anniversary important?" He asks, and the three of them look at him.

Luke shakes his head. "Nah, man, no one cares about month anniversaries."

Julie groans. "Of course it's important! Maybe not super important, but acknowledging it it's nice."

Luke looks at Julie, his eyebrows frowned in confusion. "So you care about month anniversaries?"

Julie rolls her eyes. "Of course I do."

"I'll keep that in mind," Luke mutters, and Alex laughs a little.

"I agree with Julie," Reggie says, sitting in the floor, still fidgeting with his instrument. "Maybe you could do something nice? Go to a restaurant or something."

"Yeah, because we're an old married couple," Alex's voice is heavy with sarcasm.

Reggie pouts. "Get your own ideas then."

"When is your anniversary anyway?" Julie asks.

"Tomorrow."

"Alex! That's too little time!"

"Too little time for what?" Luke mutters.

"I don't know," Julie stands up and sits beside Reggie on the floor. "To prepare something. Maybe buy him a gift. He's _your_ boyfriend, what kind of stuff does he like?"

"Um- he likes street art and skateboards and dancing and stupid puppy videos-"

"Get him a puppy!" Reggie yells.

Julie groans. "Please don't get him a puppy."

At the end, Alex decides he's buying him a pendant like the one Willie gave to him for Christmas. He and Luke are still sitting in the couch when Willie texts him _something,_ and it's nice and cheesy and _stupid,_ but he feels himself flushing anyways. Luke sees his reaction and immediately starts acting like a jerk.

"What is it, dude?" He asks, teasing, trying to look at his phone. Alex huffs and tries to keep his phone away from Luke, because he doesn't need him reading Willie's texts and teasing him forever about them.

Luke is faster, though, and he rips the phone away from his hands before Alex can react.

"Hey!" He complains. Luke just laughs. "Give me my phone back!"

But Luke doesn't, so Alex does the first thing that occurs to him and tries to get his phone back jumping in Luke's back. They're sitting so the position is awkward and Luke moves and they start wrestling while Luke laughs and tries to read the texts.

"Stop it, you idiots," Alex hears Julie saying, but he doesn't stop and neither does Luke, who's still trying to keep his hands away shoving him with his elbow.

And then Luke's elbow hits him right under the eye.

Everything's silent for a second, as Alex lets go of Luke and covers his eye with his hand, trying to ignore the way his face is _throbbing._

"Dude," he hears Luke's voice, a strained whisper. "I'm- so sorry. Alex, I'm so so so so so-"

"Shut up," Julie says, and Alex can feel her kneeling in front of him. His eyes are closed, because it _hurts_. Oh god it hurts. "Alex?" Julie calls softly. "Are you okay?"

Alex manages to nod. "Yeah, I just- you hit me _hard_ , dude."

"I'm so sorry, I swear I didn't mean to."

Alex rests his free hand in Luke's shoulder, still not opening his eyes. "I know you didn't mean to. Don't worry."

"Let me see," Julie urges.

They come to the conclusion that it's not that bad. The area is sore and kind of puffy and swollen but he can see and open his eye and there's no blood so it _can't_ be that bad. They all walk him to his room and Julie gets him some ice and Luke feels guilty so he goes and buys the pendant Alex was planning on getting and comes back with a new pink hoodie for him as an unnecessary way of apologizing. Alex takes it anyway.

Reggie brings him cookies and they all lay in his bed, watching a movie while Alex ignores the pain, his head resting in Reggie's thighs. After that, his friends leave and Julie tells him to call her if the swelling gets any worse.

The next day, when he checks himself in the mirror, he curses.

"Fuck," he groans, as he pokes around the eye area. The bruise is dark and angry and kind of big and just- awful. But whatever.

He takes a shower and walks to Willie's apartment, trying to come up with a way to give him the gift without being awkward. He rings the doorbell and the outside door opens and Alex climbs the stairs, repeating the words he's decided on to himself.

He knocks the apartment door and Willie's voice answers.

"It's open!"

Alex opens the door and comes in. Willie's standing by the kitchen door, holding a bowl of cereal. His hair's a mess and he's wearing a hoodie and pajama pants and he looks so _cute_.

"Hey," he greets, and Willie looks at him with a smile.

"Hi, man, I was waiting-" there's a second of silence as Willie blinks and then he drops his bowl of cereal to the ground and Alex grimaces because someone's going to have to clean that. "What the _fuck_ happened to you?"

Oh, right. The bruise.

"It's not a big deal," he says. Willie's standing close to him now, standing on his tip-toes so he can look at his face better, his hands resting against Alex's cheeks.

"Alex, who did this to you?"

Alex sighs. "It's a long story."

"I'm serious," Willie continues, his eyes fierce, his brow furrowed.

"Well, yesterday Luke-"

" _Luke_ did this to you?" Willie sounds furious, and Alex raises his hands a little, taking a step back.

"It was an accident! Calm down, listen to me, okay?"

Willie nods and Alex tells the story, a little ashamed because it's the most stupid way to get hurt, but whatever. It's not the first time it's happened, given the fact that both Luke and Reggie are incredibly accident-prone and Alex usually gets caught in the fire too.

When he's done talking, Willie sighs a little and covers his eyes with his hands.

"I'm sorry I overreacted. I just- I thought someone had hurt you."

"I'm okay," Alex mutters.

Willie looks at the bruise, as if he'd me making sure of that. "That looks nasty," Willie says at the end, his fingers hovering over his face.

Alex shrugs. "Thank you. It's my face."

Willie rolls his eyes. "Did you ice it? Does it hurt?"

"Yeah, and kind of, but Julie took care of it."

"Okay."

"Oh, and by the way," Alex advances towards Willie and passes his hands around his neck, bringing him close to him. "Happy one-month anniversary or whatever."

Willie hums a little. "Happy whatever."

And then they kiss.

Then Alex gives him the pendant and Willie smiles and kisses him again, gentle and slow because of the bruise. They start advancing towards Willie's couch and then Alex realizes they're standing over the spilled milk and cereal.

"Wait," Alex stops kissing Willie and looks down.

"Oh, yeah," Willie chuckles. "I probably should clean that first."

**four**

One month later, Alex starts thinking about saying I love you. He'd never understood why is it a big deal, but now he kind of gets it. There's something- magical about those words, something raw and vulnerable and private that only becomes important once you _feel_ it.

Every day after he has lunch with him or after they study together or after he goes to their gigs and screams and cheers, Alex just _feels_ that, a tightness in his chest that makes his head spin because he is in _love_. Or at least he thinks so.

God, he's being so damn cheesy.

But it's the truth, and he feels it again in that instant, as he watches Willie do tricks in the skate park.

Alex's sitting on a bench, holding the skateboard that Willie gave to him when they first met in his hands, just staring at his boyfriend. He's jumping around and Alex's gotten used to it by now, so he doesn't freak out every time it looks like he's about to fall.

The skate park is empty because it's really early in the morning, but Willie loves waking up early for some goddamn reason, and Alex goes with him to the skate park every morning because sometimes, when they're really busy with class and homework, it's the only time of the day they'll see each other. He hates it, though, having to get up at five a.m. because Willie is waiting on the other side of the door, with an adorable smile and some coffee.

Willie jumps one of the crazy-skating-thingies Alex doesn't know the name of and lands with another trick. Alex smiles at him.

"That was cool," Alex tells him.

Willie shakes his head. "That was _awesome,"_ he corrects. "I've been practicing that trick for like a week now. Appreciate it."

Alex rolls his eyes. "I appreciate it. You should, um- go challenge Tony Hawk to a duel or something."

"That's _not_ how it works, babe," Willie laughs.

That's another thing Alex loves. Willie goes from calling him babe to dude to man or idiot, depending on however he's feeling. Alex absolutely adores it.

"You could learn a trick or too," Willie suggests, as he's been doing for a long time now, and Alex shakes his head.

"Nope. I don't want to die."

"You're not going to _die_ ," Willie groans, grabbing his hand. "It'll be fun. You've gotten really better at this whole thing."

"The only thing I can do is move forward in a straight line, dude.”

"And you're great at it!"

"I said no. No way."

Alex doesn't know _how,_ but Willie begs and begs and whines and Alex tries to look annoyed but honestly finds it adorable, so twenty minutes later he's standing on top of the crazy-skating-thingie, trying to figure out how to jump off it.

"C'mon!" Willie encourages. "Just do as I taught you. It's not that hard."

Alex thinks it's _very_ hard, but he's already standing in top of the thingie, and he doesn't want to look like an idiot in front of Willie, so he gathers up courage and closes his eyes and jumps.

He realizes the mistake was closing his eyes, as he fumbles to grab the skateboard and doesn't find it and goes crashing down to the ground. He doesn't even realize he's laughing until he hears his little laugh over Willie's voice.

"What the hell was that?" Willie urges, and Alex laughs a little bit louder.

"I closed my eyes," he explains as Willie helps him up. "Why did I close my eyes?"

"Because you're an _idiot,"_ Willie mutters. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he answers. "I told you I would die."

"You're not dead. But yeah, no more doing tricks for you. Julie will kill me if I get you killed."

"You're the one who insisted!" Alex complains. Then he realizes he's grazed the palms of his hands, and the skin is kind of torn, covered in a little blood. "Fuck," he curses, staring at them. Willie looks at them too and frowns.

"I'm sorry I insisted. C'mon, we need to clean those up."

Twenty minutes later, he's sitting in Willie's couch, and Willie's kneeling in front of him, inspecting his palms.

"It's not that bad," Alex reassures, because it's true. They only sting a little. Besides, Willie has grazed palms all the _time,_ because he always falls down when he's trying to learn new tricks.

"Yeah, but they're going to hurt like hell when you try to play drums."

"Oh." Alex hadn't thought about that, but it does make sense. He's used to it, though. "I've had worse."

Willie raises an eyebrow at him, still holding some rubbing alcohol and a desinfectant. "You have?"

"Don't play for hours with rings on, man. Or touch your sticks when they're starting to splinter."

Willie frowns. "I don't want to hear about your complete lack of self-care."

"I'll stop talking then."

After Willie's finished cleaning his palms, he lays in the couch beside him, resting his head against Alex's chest.

"You sure you're okay? I'm sorry if you felt pressured to do it," he whispers, and Alex starts playing with his hair.

"Nah, it was fun. Until I fell. Maybe I'll try something different another time."

Willie yawns. "What time is it?"

"Uh, 7:30 a.m."

"I have class at 8:15," Willie whines, hiding his face against Alex's hoodie. "I don't want to go."

"You have to."

Willie groans once more. "Don't make me."

"You could stay if you want. Until 8:30, because I have class at that hour."

"I hate you."

Alex's about to tell him that he loves him, because it seems like a good time to say it, the two of them laying in the couch, Alex's hands still caressing Willie's hair, but he starts overthinking and decides it's not the right time. Yet.

"I hate you too."

**five**

"Hey, dude, you like ballet, right?" Willie asks on a Thursday, as they leave dance group, sweating and smiling.

Alex frowns. "Uh, yeah," he answers, trying not to sound too excited. Willie knows he loves dancing, but he's never really talked about the way he _adores_ ballet, and the way his childhood dream was to be a ballet dancer. He watches all of the YouTube videos he can find late at night and goes to every ballet recital he can find. He doesn't know a single move, though, but that's okay. He loves _watching_ it.

"Oh, that's great, because I bought us tickets to The Sleeping Beauty tomorrow."

Alex blinks. "You _what?_ "

"Carrie told me that this dance company from New York would do The Sleeping Beauty in a theatre not that far away and I remembered you said you loved ballet so I bought us tickets. Is that okay?"

Alex wants to kiss him so _bad_ , but they're in the middle of the street and neither of them like public displays of affection so he just nods effusively.

"Of course it's okay! I _love_ The Sleeping Beauty, I lo-"

And then he interrupts himself, because he wants to say I love you for the first time in an especial occasion, not like this. "I love... ballet. I love it so much. Thanks."

Willie gives him a quick kiss in the cheek. "No worries. I'll pick you up tomorrow, okay?"

Alex nods. "Alright."

On Friday night, after he comes back from the show, (which was freaking awesome), Alex decides it's time to tell Willie that he loves him. They've been dating for almost four months now, and he doesn't care if it's too late or too soon or if he's the first one to say it. He needs to vocalize what he's feeling, he needs to be able to drop those three words in casual conversation every time he feels like it, until it's common and until it leaves his lips so often it's not a big deal anymore.

He doesn't know how to, though.

So he calls Julie, because she's the only one of his friends who has common sense.

"I don't think it's supposed to be a grand gesture," she offers through the phone. "Just say it."

"It's not that easy! What if I say it and he doesn't say it back and it's awkward? What if I say it and he thinks it's too soon and breaks up with me? Or what if-?"

"Alex, sweetie, think a little. Willie's so in love with you it's ridiculous."

"You don't know that," Alex's laying upside down in his bed, his feet leaning against the wall.

"Everyone knows that!" Julie screeches. "In case you haven't noticed, he's the most protective person ever. He's like so into you it's embarrassing."

Alright, she has a point. Willie's just- Alex doesn't know how to describe him. Perfect.

"Okay. Maybe I can say it this Sunday after our gig, right? He likes it when we play."

Julie nods. "That's a great idea, because I'm planning of asking Luke if he wants to be my boyfriend on Sunday too."

"Wait, what?"

So then Julie starts talking about the way she and Luke have been bonding more each time, and now she finally feels ready to take the next step. It was time already.

The gig is in a club near the campus, and there's not many people but they have fun and they're actually getting paid to perform, which is something new and exciting. They play for like an hour and then there's clapping (Willie's crazy cheers and whistling above every other noise, as always) and then they're in the back of the club, waiting for Luke and Julie.

Alex's not really sure of how much time it'll take them to figure out their feelings and stuff, but he's fine with waiting because it's Luke's turn to buy them all dinner.

He, Willie and Reggie are waiting in the alley, talking about something stupid when two people come out of the back door of the club. They stand in the other side of the alleyway, and they light up some cigarettes.

Alex's never really cared about cigarette smoke but he knows Reggie hates it, so he grabs him by the shoulder and makes him walk away from them. Then they start talking, and their voices are way too loud to ignore.

"That band sucked," one of the guys says, and Alex realizes they're talking about them.

"Just a bunch of stupid kids who think they can do music," the other replies. Reggie pouts beside him.

"That's not nice," he mutters, and Alex pats his shoulder a little.

"Don't listen to them, Reg."

"Fucking kids and their stupid fucking music," the guy keeps smoking, and Alex can tell they're saying all that stuff on purpose because he's staring directly at him.

Alex doesn't get the necessity to insult them, but he doesn't really care. He takes Willie's hand and puts his other hand on Reggie's shoulder, ready to leave and wait for Luke and Julie in another place, but Willie doesn't move.

He lets go of his hand and turns around to look at the guys.

"Do you have a problem?" He asks them, and Alex's surprised by the way his usually soft voice sounds lower, colder.

"Willie-," Alex tries to grab Willie's shoulder, because he's never liked conflict and he prefers to ignore everything and leave when he's uncomfortable, but Willie shakes his head.

"If these guys don't know how to be fucking polite, it's their problem. There's no need to say all that stuff when the guys you're talking trash about are right there."

The taller of the guys rolls his eyes. "I can say whatever I want."

"No, you can't."

Alex can't really see Willie's face, but there's _something_ about his posture. He clenches his fists and he stands up straight, and okay, Alex suddenly remembers that Willie's kind of buff and has strong, sharp features and even if he's the nicest person he's ever met, he figures he _can_ be scary when he wants to.

The guys seem to think the same, because the shortest one rolls his eyes, but he looks kind of uncomfortable.

"Okay," the guy says. "Sorry, I guess."

And then they leave, and Alex's not entirely sure of what just happened.

"Did you just- scare those guys off?"

Willie shrugs, a shy smile forming in his lips. "I think so? I just hate it when people are mean. Especially to you guys."

"I- I-" Alex stutters.

Reggie reacts first, though, and he hugs Willie, hanging like a koala from his neck.

"Alex, I love your boyfriend," he says.

Alex wants to say something like 'I love him too,' because he was planning on it and because Willie's just- fucking great. And he even opens his eyes and repeats the words to himself to make sure they're not stupid, but then Julie and Luke arrive, holding hands and smiling like idiots.

"Guess who has a girlfriend now!" Luke calls, jumping a little. She rolls her eyes fondly.

"I'm assuming it's not Alex," Julie answers, but she gives Luke a one-sided hug.

Reggie runs and hugs Luke, clinging to him as he did with Willie.

"I'm so happy for you guys," Reggie mutters. Alex rolls his eyes. "Now you're all obliged to get me a girlfriend. Or a boyfriend. I'm not picky."

Luke grabs Reggie by the shoulders, smiling.

"We'll see what we can do."

Then Luke buys them all pizza, and two hours later, when they're leaving the pizzeria, Alex is holding Willie's hand and he's about to say it, he really, really, really wants to say it, but he knows he's lost his chance.

It'll have to be another time.

**plus one**

Alex can tell something's wrong with Willie.

He's been texting him all day and he hasn't received a single answer, which is weird, because Willie _always_ texts back. He has class until like 6 p.m., but he spends the whole afternoon thinking about Willie, because he just can _sense_ something's not right.

When his classes are finally over, he practically runs to Willie's apartment, because he's not answering his calls either. He rings the doorbell and the front gate opens and then he climbs the stairs as fast as he can, trying not to freak out.

Ben, one of Willie's roommates, opens the apartment door.

"Hey, Alex, how's it going?"

Alex doesn't have time for small talk. "Is Willie home?"

Ben grimaces. "Yeah, he's in his room. He's having some sort of breakdown, though."

Alex wants to _scream_. "What do you mean a breakdown?" He asks, coming inside the apartment, even if he pushes Ben a little.

"I'm not sure what happened, I think one of his professors told him something he didn't like- he came home very upset yesterday and hasn't talked to me since then. I was actually about to call you."

"Alright, I'm here now. Don't worry."

Ben pats his shoulder and leaves towards the other side of the apartment.

Alex walks to Willie's room, ignoring the clothes and trash that's always scattered around the apartment.

Willie's door is locked, and Alex can hear loud punk music coming through the walls, the bass shaking the ground. He knocks.

"Willie?" He calls, trying to sound calm. "It's me."

Nothing happens.

"Willie," he repeats, raising his voice a little. "It's Alex. Can you please open the door? For me?"

That seems to do the trick, because the door unlocks with the loudest 'click' Alex's ever heard in his life. He comes into the room, trying to think over the loud music.

All of the drawings Willie had stuck to the walls are on a pile in the floor, and a _lot_ of them are just torn pieces of paper. Willie's oils and watercolors and pencils are also scattered all over the floor, along with a bunch of clothes and pillows.

"Hey," Alex whispers, walking towards Willie. His boyfriend's hair is tied into a messy bun, a bunch of strands covering his face. There are huge bags under his eyes and he just looks- bad. "Babe, what's wrong?"

Willie shakes his head. He's hugging himself, rubbing his arms with his thumbs. He looks like he's about to burst into tears, and Alex just wants to make it all alright.

"I suck," Willie explains, gesturing at all of his drawings. "I'm never going to be good enough."

"Woah," Alex advances towards him and hugs him. Willie relaxes under his touch, slumping against him. "That's not true, okay? You're great. Who said that?"

Willie's voice is muffled because his face is pressed against Alex's shoulder.

"I worked _really_ hard on the project," he says, and Alex remembers he was, in fact, working hard on a project for one of his classes. "I know I'm not the best at technical stuff or whatever but I really tried to make it great. But he said it sucked."

Alex frowns, feeling anger starting churning in his stomach. "Who said that?" He asks again.

"My professor."

"Your professor said you sucked?" Alex's confused. And mad. And- he doesn't know how to feel.

"He's right, though. The only thing I can draw is freaking dogs playing drums."

"Well, I love your dogs."

Willie shakes his head and steps away from the hug. "I suck. All of these suck. Have you seen the art everyone else does? They're so _great._ And I'm a disaster. I mean, have you seen this place? My whole life's a _mess_."

"Okay, Willie, you need to calm down, alright?" Alex grabs him by the upper arm and makes him walk to the bed. They sit in the bare mattress, because the comforter has somehow ended up on the floor as well. "I promise none of that is true. Your professor is just a douchebag."

Willie covers his face with his hands. "I'm just tired."

Alex hugs him again. "It's okay. We all need a break sometimes. Have you eaten today?"

"Um- no, I think not."

"I'm going to get you something to eat, alright? You'll be okay if I leave for a second?"

"I'm not a child," Willie mutters, crossing his arms a little. Alex finds it endearing, so he kisses Willie's forehead.

"I know you're not. I'll be back soon."

Willie's kitchen is mostly empty, but he finds some Oreos, an apple, and fills a glass full of water. That will have to do for now.

He walks back to Willie's room and hands him the cookies and the apple. He waits as he watches Willie eat, his hand resting against Willie's back.

"You're not a mess," he starts, because he needs to say this and Willie needs to hear it. "You're the best person I've ever met. You're sweet and thoughtful and kind and always put others first. You're a great artist and your drawings are beautiful, it doesn't matter if they're dogs or pigs or people. You're also the best boyfriend anyone could've asked for, and you've been there for me so many times it's incredible. I mean, you've been there for me since moment one, when Julie asked you if you could teach me how to fucking skate," Alex's aware he's probably being the cheesiest person in the whole world, but he doesn't care. "You're the best thing that's happened to me in a _long_ time, Willie. Okay? It doesn't matter what a stupid professor says. You're so much more than that."

Willie's staring at him with the softest smile Alex has seen on him, and he knows he's doing the right thing. "You're great, Willie, and I dove you."

Oh, fuck.

Willie bursts out laughing.

"You _dove_ me?" He teases, and Alex pushes him a little, even if he feels like he's dying from embarrassment.

"I _love_ you," he corrects. Then he groans. "Oh god I just ruined it. I said all that and then my stupid fucking mouth decided to say _dove_ instead of _love, oh_ _god_ -"

"Alex, hey," Willie grabs his chin and makes him look at his eyes. "I dove you too," he says, with the most serious expression Alex's ever seen him wear.

Alex pushes him. "I fucking hate you."

"No you don't," Willie manages to get out between giggles. "You _dove_ me."

"Stop it!"

Willie's still laughing, and Alex's kind of laughing too. "Shut up."

"Make me," Willie dares, and Alex kisses him.

They've been together for four months or so, and they've kissed a _lot_ , but Alex thinks he'll never get tired of it.

"I love you," he corrects, his forehead pressed against Willie's.

Willie licks his lips and stares strongly at him. "I love you too, Alex."

Willie falls asleep fifteen minutes later, the two of them laying on top of the mattress. It's totally understandable, because apparently Willie hasn't slept in more than twenty-four hours, too busy destroying his own drawings. So Alex makes sure that he's totally asleep and he sticks all of the still-complete drawings to the walls where they were. He cleans the room a little and picks up everything from the floor, takes out the trash and then opens the curtains, even if it's late at night by now.

When he's satisfied with the result, he goes back to the bed and covers himself and Willie with a clean comforter he found in the laundry room of the apartment. Willie immediately snuggles against him, hiding his face in his neck.

"Were you awake?" Alex asks, chuckling a little. Willie shrugs.

"I like watching you."

"You like watching me clean?"

Willie hums. "I like watching you do anything."

Alex feels himself flushing. "Okay," he mutters. Willie kisses his neck, and Alex feels like he's melting.

Then his boyfriend snuggles a little closer to him, and stifles a yawn. "Now, if you excuse me, I'm going back to sleep. Thanks, Alex. For everything."

"You don't have to thank me. That's what I'm here for, right? I've told you before, I'd do anything for you."

Willie nods. Alex can tell he's falling asleep already.

"I _dove_ you," Willie mutters, giggling a little, and Alex groans.

"I said shut up!"

**Author's Note:**

> asdfghjkl why was that so cheesy? I don't know, but Willex just makes me so soft.  
> I hoped you liked it! I've never written a 5+1 things before, but I figured this was a great opportunity because I did want to write a little sequel but I didn't want to do an unnecessary plot, so I made this.  
> As always, kudos and comments are much appreciated, english is not my first language so I apologize for any mistakes, and you can come find me on tumblr at @sunsetsandcurves


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